Jōdo-shū (浄土宗, "The Pure Land School") is a Japanese branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Kamakura era monk Hōnen (1133–1212). The school is traditionally considered as having been established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shinshū. There are various branches of Jōdo-shū, which the largest and most influential ones being Chinzei-ha and Seizan-ha.
Jōdo-shū Buddhism focuses exclusively on devotion to Amitābha Buddha (Amida Nyorai), and its practice is focused on the Nembutsu (recitation of Amitābha’s name). As in other forms of Pure Land Buddhism, adherents believe that the faithful recitation of the phrase "Namu Amida Butsu" (Homage to Amida Buddha) results in birth in the pure land of Sukhavati.
The Jōdo-shū as an independent sect is not to be confused with the term which is used as a classification for "Japanese Pure Land Buddhism" in general. This broader classification would include Jōdo-shū, the Jōdo Shinshu, the Ji-shu and the Yuzu Nembutsu shu.詳説 日本仏教13宗派がわかる本. Kodansha.宗派について. Kanetsu Seien.
History
Background The work of the founder Hōnen is informed primarily by the Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, especially the work of Shandao. He was also influenced by the Tendai school background in which he trained as a monk. The work of Genshin was also important for Hōnen, as he was a Japanese Tendai monk who focused on Pure Land practice.Rhodes, Robert F. (2017). Genshin's Ōjōyōshū and the Construction of Pure Land Discourse in Heian Japan, p. 10. (Pure Land Buddhist Studies). University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0824872489.
Hōnen's Jōdo goso den lists five Pure Land patriarchs, all of which informed the thought of Hōnen to varying degrees. The following five patriarchs are still considered to be the main patriarchs of the Japanese Jōdo-shū school:
Tanluan (476–542) Daochuo (562–645) Shandao (613–681) Huaigan (懷感, 7th century) Wulong Shaokang (736–806)
The Founder: Hōnen
Hōnen (法然) was born in 1133, the son of Uruma no Tokikuni of a local ruling family in Mimasaka Province. After a rival official assassinated his father in 1141, Hōnen was initiated into his uncle's monastery at the age of 9. From then on, Hōnen lived his life as a monk and eventually studied at the famous monastery of Mount Hiei. He practiced traditional Tendai Buddhism for some time, but eventually became dissatisfied with it. Influenced by the writings of Shandao, Hōnen devoted himself solely to Amitābha as expressed through the practice of nembutsu.
In time, Hōnen gathered disciples from all walks of life, and developed a large following, notably women, who had been excluded from serious Buddhist practice up to this point. This included fishermen, prostitutes, samurai, and fortune tellers. Some of his followers more strictly followed Buddhist conduct, whereas others assumed they were saved by Amida Buddha and behaved recklessly, earning criticism from established monastic communities such as Enryaku-ji and Kofuku-ji. To counter these criticisms, Honen insisted his followers sign the in 1204, pledging not to disparage other sects, and to uphold the Buddha-Dharma. One-hundred and sixty-three followers, including Hōnen's chief disciples, signed the pledge.
In 1207, Kofukuji monks made another petition to the Emperor to ban Hōnen's teaching. Meanwhile, two of Hōnen's disciples, Jūren and Anraku-bō, were caught proselytizing to some of the ladies in waiting of Emperor Go-Toba, who had then decided to take tonsure and leave the service of the Emperor. In anger, the Emperor decreed that Hōnen and several followers be defrocked and sent into exile, while Jūren and Anraku-bō were executed. This is known as the of 1207. Eventually, Hōnen was pardoned and returned to Kyoto in 1211, but died soon after in 1212, just two days after giving his final testament, the One-Sheet Document to disciple Genchi.
Early years after Hōnen The remaining disciples in the capital collected Hōnen's writings and erected a mausoleum. His disciples had already begun work on carving Hōnen's magnum opus, his Senchakushū, into woodblocks in 1207 for printing. The carving of the blocks was completed in 1211 and the first copied were then printed and distributed publicly. This was the first printing of the text of a Japanese Buddhist author and it was a big sensation at the time.
During the fifteen years following Hōnen’s passing, three key figures—Ryūkan, Kōsai, and Shōku—emerged as leaders of distinct factions within Hōnen’s Pure Land movement. They defended their tradition against opposition from established Buddhist schools, worked to establish the legitimacy of Pure Land teachings, and developed their own interpretations of Hōnen’s doctrine.Jodo Shu Research Institute. The 4 Eras of Honen's Disciples.
Ryūkan (1148–1227) emphasized faith in Amida’s vow as the path to salvation and actively defended Hōnen against criticism from Tendai and other sects. Kōsai (1163–1247) promoted the idea that a single recitation of the nembutsu (ichinen-gi) was sufficient for birth in the Pure Land, drawing on the doctrine of innate enlightenment (hongaku). His radical stance gained followers but also provoked strong opposition, even among Hōnen’s disciples. Shōku (1177–1247) argued that all Buddhist practices serve only as preparatory steps toward the ultimate path of nembutsu recitation (seizan-gi), integrating Tendai thought into Pure Land practice. Unlike Ryūkan and Kōsai, Shōku avoided exile during the persecution and led the nembutsu community in Kyoto, where five prominent lineages later emerged.
When Hōnen's work began to circulate in 1227, this further enraged the Tendai monastic community on Enryaku-ji, who wrote attacks against it. Ryūkan’s defense against Tendai critique of the Senchakushū, resulted in the exile of Ryūkan and Kōsai, and force of sōhei warrior monks were sent to raid the tomb of Hōnen. This is known as the of 1227. Hōnen's body and copies of the Senchakushū were relocated thanks to advance warning, but other writings of Honen's were destroyed, and more disciples were exiled.
In 1239, Hōnen's followers re-carved the Senchakushū into new woodblocks so they could reprint the text again.
Emergence of distinct lineages
As a result of the persecution of 1207 by order of Emperor Go-Toba, and then the 1227 Karoku Persecution, many of the disciples of Hōnen were exiled to remote provinces (though not all were exiled). Each established a local community in their respective provinces and with nuances in the . During this time, doctrinal debates flourished among Hōnen’s disciples, and his teachings spread across Japan. Shinran and Ryūkan’s followers established nembutsu communities in the Kantō region, while Benchō strengthened the movement in Kyūshū, and Kōsai spread Pure Land teachings in Shikoku. Each disciple maintained a distinct interpretation of Hōnen’s doctrine.
As doctrinal disagreements between Hōnen's disciples Ryūkan, Chōsai, Kōsai and Shōku escalated, a major debate occurred between two opposing positions: once-calling (Jp: ) and many-calling (Jp: ). One-calling (defended by Kōsai and also accepted by Shinran) held that you only needed to recite nenbutsu once to be liberated, while many-calling held that you needed to recite nenbutsu as much as possible. Hōnen himself promoted sustained practice as taught by many-calling, though he also said that one could be saved by even a few recitations (but this was not an excuse to abandon practice). The mainstream Jōdo-shū tradition follows this view and promotes extensive recitation while also accepting that a single recitation can lead to the Pure Land.Jones, Charles B. (2021). Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice, pp. 123–135. Shambhala Publications, .Jodo Shu Research Institute of Buddhism, Honen's Instructions on Practice.Piotrowski, Caroline Maria. "Hōnen's “Lukewarm” Faith: Auxiliary Actions in the Framework of Exclusive Nembutsu." University of Georgia, 2010.
Kōsai's "single recitation" (ichinen-gi) doctrine held that one can attain birth in the Pure Land through one nembutsu in which "the mind of faith (shinjin) ... is in complete accord with the wisdom of the Buddha." He, along with Gyōkū, emphasized faith, not practice, though his view did not mean that he rejected practice after the establishment of true faith. He also emphasized how the most important nembutsu was the non-verbal, mental nembutsu, seeing the vocalization of the nembutsu as secondary to the mind's "psychological experience of nembutsu-samādhi". His teaching may have influenced Shinran (1173–1262), later recognized as the founder of Jōdo Shinshū (True Pure Land), who also emphasized absolute reliance on Amida’s other-power (tariki), rejecting personal effort as a means to salvation. For Shinran, reciting the nembutsu was not a practice to achieve birth in the pure land, but an expression of gratitude for already being saved by Amida. Shinran also copied and preserved the earliest known compilation of Hōnen’s words, which he titled Saihō Shinanshō (A Teaching to the Western Land, T. 2674). Over time, Shinran's lineage gradually differed enough from others to be considered a separate tradition altogether, though Shinran did not see himself as founding a separate school in his time.
On the opposite side of the debate was Ryūkan, one of Honen's more elderly disciples, who emphasized the efficacy of the nembutsu as a constant practice and encouraged its frequent recitation, leading to his teachings being called the "many callings school" or . For Ryūkan, constant recitation throughout one's life is what allowed one to attain birth in the Pure Land through the final moment at death by Amida's power. He was eventually exiled to eastern Japan during the 1227 persecution, where he died en route.
Shōkōbō Benchō (1162–1238), the main figure of the Chinzei lineage, was another supporter of the tanen-gi doctrine who criticized the supporters of ichinen-gi and their supposed immorality. He also advocated a balanced practice that included nembutsu and auxiliary practices. Benchō categorized Buddhist practices as either a general form of nembutsu (sō no nembutsu) or the specific practice of reciting Amida’s name (betsu no nembutsu), arguing that the latter ultimately encompasses all other Buddhist practices. Drawing from the Daichido-ron, he wrote extensively to systematize Hōnen’s teachings, notably in Matsudai Nembutsu Jushuin and Tetsu Senchakushū.
Shōku (1177 –1247) remained in Kyoto as the primary leader of Hōnen’s followers, guiding various groups despite brief periods of suppression in 1235 and 1240, which were less severe than the earlier persecutions. Shōku's doctrine was called "unvarnished nembutsu", which taught that the simple recitation of nembutsu without any influences was effective for birth, but he also made room for the auxiliary Pure Land practices and miscellaneous practices which could "color" the nembutsu (even if they were not necessary). He saw other practices as able to be included within the nembutsu (which could never be harmed or ruined by them), a doctrine called "harmonizing of other practices within the nembutsu." He also taught that self-power and other-power were not mutually exclusive. His lineage became known as Seizan-ha.
Only two Jōdo-shū lineages (apart from Shinshu) survive today: the Chinzei-ha branch of Benchō and the Seizan-ha branch of Shōku (with three sub-branches). Other offshoots such as Jōdo Shinshū and the Ji-shū sects are considered different enough to be separate schools from Jodo-shū. The largest branch of Jōdo-shū today is the , named after the district of Chinzei in Kitakyushu, the hometown of Benchō. The and Kuhon-ji branches grew around the capitol of Kyoto, as Shōkū and Chōsai were among the few major disciples who were not exiled.
Main lineages and disciples
Other disciples of note: